Your inquiry is under way. It is built on good foundations and you are using different lenses to NOTICE and maintain your CURIOSITY about the children’s learning.
But inquiries do not exist as a set of wondrous learning experiences in prettily constructed environments (although both of these will increase the children’s and the educators’ engagement).
Children need specific skills to help the inquiry (listening, viewing, reading, sight words, counting, measuring, holding a pencil or paintbrush, colour mixing, using technologies, cutting, arranging….).
Children need specific words to help them understand the content.
Children need specific concepts to make sense of their learning.
Children need specific social skill to help them work with other children.
Children need time and support to strengthen their learning dispositions.
And the children need to play with each skill and material in different spaces with different materials with different children in different ways so learn, practise and master the skills and can apply them.
Throughout the whole process, from getting started to planning to sustaining the inquiry, children will be demonstrating their competencies, capacities and confidence.
All of these are roles for educators: creating experiences, supporting children’s interactions with the space, materials and other children, setting reasonable expectations, setting and re-setting environments, ensuring materials and equipment are accessible, plentiful and safe, documenting what the children do, how, when, for how long and with whom.
Every part of this requires educators to NOTICE, maintain their CURIOSITY, to manage UNCERTAINTY, to WONDER how (or if) we can sustain, strengthen and deepen the children’s learning.
If you would like to LIVE an inquiry-led process so you can learn more about it, join or book a Living Project with Facilitating Conversations and The Art Creatives!
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